Byzantium
=Overview= The Byzantine Empire was reformed after a five month period of being disbanded. It was reformed from Hansa on February 20th, 2013. It was peacefully merged into Saphiri on July 29, 2013. =History= *Formed by the former Imperial Legion in Late April, 7520. *Was Annexed by the Order of Dalmaitus on May 10th, 7520. *PopulusRomanus joined the Empire on June 6th, 7520. *Was released as a Vassal on June 8th, 7520. *Mr_Pesident joined the Empire on June 9th, 7520. *Became an Independant Nation on June 11th, 7520. *AtomicBaconBits and Nerva2004 joined the Empire on June 12th, 7520. *Nerva2004 elected Basileios on June 13th, 7520. Will Reign until July 1st, 7520 *Cpdwane and Mustang70 join on June 14th, 7520 *Byzantine Intervention against Ottomans on June 15th, 7520. *Byzantine period of unrest: June 21st-June 24th, 7520. *The League War: June 27th, 7520 *Nerva2004 Re-Elected on July 1st, 7520 *Arnor-Byzantine War: July 17th *Rainbow_Splat leaves Byzantium: July 19th *The Empire transitioned over upon the day of the Server reset. *Ingloriousthomas elected Basileios on August 1st, 7520. *Ingloriousthomas elected Basileios on September 1st, 7520. *Sometime after September 14th, Byzantium engaged in and lost the Dwarven-Saxon War *Byzantine Constitution is written on September 30th, 7520. *Mekijjel elected Basileios on October 1st, 7520. *Faction disbanded shortly after November 6th, 7520. *Faction refounded by Mekijjel on February 20th, 7521. *Joined Gold Coast Trade League in late February, 7521. *Defenders at Gottburg fought off NeoBelkan raiders on March 17th, 7521. *Nerva2004 was named Arhigos of the Byzantine Empire by Basileios Mekijjel, officially starting a new era of modernism and tight control of the state, on April 1st, 7521 *The Empire fought against North Korea in the Mount Fuji War, resulting in a stalemate *The Empire fought in the Thracian War and was defeated, resulting in the forced vassalage of Thrace. *The Empire fought North Korea in the Byzantine War until the server had a minor problem that deleted all factions' information. *Arhigos Nerva resigned as leader and as such Basileios Mekijjel seized control with the help of the Anhalt Rangers on May 17th, 7521. *Several former members resettle in Raven. *Rome declared war, sparking the Roman-Byzantine Conflict beginning on July 1st, 7521. *The Roman-Byzantine Conflict ended in a white peace on July 7th, 7521. *Merged into Saphiri on July 29, 7521. *Several of its members have since reformed it into the Roman Empire. Military History 'Ottoman Invasion of Palamaine' On June 15th, the Byzantine Empire assisted Palamaine against an agressive Ottoman force. In the Ottoman Invasion of Palamaine, two engagements were fought, in which the forces of Byzantium and Palamaine drove back the aggressors. After both sides failed to succesfully occupy eachother's capital cities, the war was ended in a white peace. 'The League War' For approximately 2 weeks in June and July of 2012 the Byzantines fought in The League War, in which many men were slain and Constantinople was sacked numerous times. The Byzantines started the war after perceived insults from one of Palamaine's Triarchs, and thus fought in it to the end, being probably the League Nation that was less prepared for the war and most affected by it. Byzantine corps didn't excell during the fighting, but were part of the League's many offensives against the PalaBros. 'Arnor-Byzantine War' On July 17th, Byzantium declared war on Arnor concurrent with the Lathreatic and Amgarrak declarations, but unrelated to this other war. On the 18th, after an unsuccessful raid on Annanus in which no Arnorians showed themselves, both sides invaded each other's base at the same time. Eventually, both agreed to fight an arranged battle at Constantinople, which Byzantium decisively won. The Empire declared victory and ended the war. 'Raids on Constantinople' On July 30th and 31st, Belka and the Ottomans both declared war. Claiming that "It's 1453 fellas" the Ottomans charged in and were defeated in 5 successful engagements. Byzantium won the so-called "war" with approximately 20 kills to their 3 losses. On July 31st there was a skirmish outside the portal to Constantinople, where griefers were defiling the Byzantine flag and surrounding terrain. With the help of Benz and cryers, they were successfuly driven off and much diamond armor was looted and captured. The war ended with the close of the server and the formation of the ISAF. It should be noted that this was moreso a "Derp" war than an official one, as it was just a use of the excessive amount of diamonds everyone had towards the end of the original map. 'Dwarven-Saxon War' In this war the newly-formed New Dawn Federation was utterly crushed by the Dwarves. Byzantine, GFed, and Belkan Troops all fought against the dwarves in 3 seperate engagements, but were defeated in all of them. Byzantium was heavily looted and suffered its first real defeat. (Albeit it was weakened due to the map reset.) 'Mount Fuji War' During the Thrid World's very first day, the nation of North Korea tried to evict the Wolfpack from Mount Fuji. The Byzantines were called to arms by their Wolfpack allies, sending an eight man army north commanded by Arhigos Nerva2004. The North Korean-Norman army was decisively defeated at the seige of an unfinished Battle Moat as the Byzantines were reinforced by the Dwarven army. The Wolfpack, however, still decided to abandon Mount Fuji to the Koreans, shortly after. 'Thracian War' Facing renewed aggression from North Korea, Byzantium lead a coalition of eastern nations in the defence of Thrace. The united Byzantium-Saphirian army routed the Norman-North Korean troops assaulting Thrace, however, due to a complete lack of organization and disregard for safety, the Thracian nation managed to destroy their manpower and thus were forcibly vassalized by North Korea. 'Byzantine War' As Byzantium got involved in a tough war with the Belkan Empire that depleted most of its resources, the North Koreans saw an oportunity to bring down their most stubborn rival from this world. Byzantium's forces were decisively defeated at Nervodosia and Akleah, and soon, lost strategical control over its own capital. After resorting to guerrilla tactics, the North Koreans were annoyed enough so that after a crash in the "factions" plug-in they forsook the war. However, this war took a toll on most Byzantine members, and soon after the realm suffered the "Great Schism" and Arhigos Nerva2004 returned power to the Basileios Mekijjel. Battle of Akleah 'Roman-Byzantine Conflict' In the week prior to July 1st, 2013, after FPSLover had left Rome and joined Byzantium, Emperor DonMegel of Rome stated that FPSLover had taken Roman iron and diamonds when he left. He demanded the items returned and FPSLover to be punished. Following Byzantine refusal to hand over the materials or FPSLover, Rome declared war on the 1st of July. The war lasted a week with casualties and looting sustained by both sides. The war ended in a white peace on July 7th, 2013. =Government= Second Monarchy On May 17th, with Nerva having left the faction and resigning as Arhigos, Basileios Mekijjel reinstated the monarchy and restored the power of the imperial throne. The monarchy followed the same ideals as the previous. Former Dictatorship After the Cataclysm ended the Second Map, tired of military responsibilities within the empire, Basileios Mekijjel made an agreement with Nerva2004, he would stay as Basileios but would only be the head of state, while Nerva would take the lead of the Empire as Arhigos and would have control of the whole Imperial government and all important decisions. Therefore it was decided to have the civil and military powers divided with Mekijjel as head of state and Nerva as head of government. Former Monarchy Information When it was reformed, Byzantium was declared to be a monarchy, with Mekijjel as the permanent Basileios. Prior to this, Byzantium had always been a republic. Under the basileios there were two positions of government, the chancellor and the marshal. The chancellor was the basileios' advisor on diplomacy and politics, and the marshal was the basileios' advisor on war. Both were appointed by the basileios. At of the end of the second map Frisco1522 was the Chancellor, and the marshal position was vacant. Former Republic Information Elections The Byzantine Empire regularly held elections every month. The Empire was led by an elected Emperor; our Basileios. It was a Constitutional Republic and elections were conducted based on themes. Each theme counted for 1 vote. The votes were counted, and then that determined whether or not new legislation would pass, or who the next basileios would be. All legislation passed by the basileios needed to have the approval of a majority vote of the Themes. Constitution By October 1st, 7521, Byzantium had a Constitution detailing its government, and a Bill of Rights guarenteeing Sovereignty to the Citizens. It was written and signed by the Byzantine Senate under Basileios Mekijjel, but was originally approved by former Basileios Ingloriousthomas The Constitution was directly based off Roman Law and the rights of Roman Citizenship. It also contains some additions found in the Codex Theodosianus and the Novella Valentinan III. Legislation *The Basileios is in charge of all diplomatic relations. *The Basileios is always in command during War/Battle. *The Basileios may delegate power as he sees fit. *The Faction Name or Banner cannot be changed without a unanimous vote. =Culture= Religion All religions are tolerated in the Byzantine Empire. Basileios Mekijjel supports the Shaunite religion, however. =Military= Ranking System Leader: *Basileios - (Sovereign One) *Porhyphrogenitos - (Born in the Purple) *Autokrator - (Autocrat/Dictator) Faction Officers: *Hypatos - (Consul) *Stratelates - (Magister Militum) *Exarchos - (Exarch) *Megas Doux (Grand Duke/Chancellor) *Patrikos - (Patrician) *Strategos - (General of a Themata) *Tourmarch - (General of a Tagma) *Komes - (Count) *Doux - (Duke) *Kentarchos/Lochaghos - (Centurion) *Stratopedarches - (Quartermaster) Faction Members: *Kataphraktos - (Heavy Cavalryman) *Koursorsos - (Cavalryman) *Spatharios - (Palace Guard) *Bandophoros - (Standard Bearer) *Skoutatos - (Infantryman) *Menavlatos - (Light Infantryman) *Peltastos - (Javelineer) *Toxotas - (Archer) Units Imperial Byzantine Army - Essentially the Fifth Macedonian Legion. Anhalt Rangers - Comprised of the Germanic Anhaltean tribe. Led by Doux KaiserGermany, the Rangers are a special forces unit and often conduct intelligence missions. =Locations/Themes= Third Map The current lands of Byzantium are underdeveloped and largely abandoned. The only things being occupied are the city of Kassel and Southernmore Island. *Kassel, capitol of the empire. *Fort Frisconia, an incomplete fort which had begun to be built by Frisco. *Fort Sa'Cerui, also known as Fort Unpronounceable (or Akleah). *Stromsdal, contains the Cobble Fount, the bringer of light. *Fort Kaiser, the central and first Byzantine fortress on this map, once known as Fort Nervodosia, now sits abandoned and neglected. *Northern Armory Tower was destroyed by North Korean forces in a battle, and was never repaired. *Southernmore Island, Mekijjel's personal island. Second Map The empire consisted of the lands of two former nations, the Kingdom of Hansa and the Republic of Byzantium. Locations within the Byzantine Heartland: *Constantinople is located at 2750, 3135, and is the capitol of the Byzantine Empire. *Krokala is located directly east of Constantinople. *Burhanaddin Temple is located in the mountains east of Krokala. *Paliouria is located north of Constantinople. *Fort Washington is located north of Paliouria. *Hayestown is located west of Fort Washington. *Durostorum is located northwest of Constantinople. *Castrum Elysium is located immediately outside Constantinople. Locations within the Kingdom of Hansa: *Gottburg is located at 6000, 0, and is a major city of the empire and the former capitol of Hansa. *Castrum Magus is located immediately outside Gottburg. *Bremen is located south of Gottburg. *Fort Flakturm, officially Fort Flaksturmwagen, is located southwest of Gottburg. *Castrum Lupus is located west of Gottburg and was formerly a Templar castle. *The Tower Bailey is located slightly northeast of Castrum Lupus. *Fort Suket is located west of Gottburg. Aztec Colony is a small area in the Cenarian Jungle claimed by Byzantium, and used as an outpost. First Map *Constantinople is located North of the Old Order lands, it is a hilly peninsula surrounded by a wall, it is the capitol of the Byzantine Empire. *Antioch is located south of Constantinople and North of Nervaville, it is currently one of the three themes the Empire controls, its governor is Populus_Romanus. *Nervaville is located south of Antioch and North of Valor Peak, it is currently one of the three themes the Empire controls, its governor is Nerva2004. *Ravenna is located west of Constantinople, it is currently one of the three themes the Empire controls, its governor is ingloriousthomas.